A wonderfully expanded reissue of this South American rock treasure from the early 70s – key recordings by Eduardo Mateo, easily one of the most enigmatic musicians to ever record on the Uruguay scene! Although once a member of some harder-edged rock acts in the 60s, Mateo is surprisingly warm and gentle on these tracks – slightly folksy at times, but also with echoes of candombe in the percussion of some of these tunes – a unique cross-cultural blend that's made even better through production that's sweetly compressed, but also wonderfully clean and simple. There's an earnest, personal feel to these tunes that reminds us a lot of the work of Alzo & Udine – or Alzo, solo – spare use of percussion underneath acoustic guitar, topped by vocals that really have a way of grabbing us, even when we can't understand the lyrics! Given Mateo's temperament and unreliability in the studio, the original album in the set was more of a "collection" put together by his producer – and it's expanded on greatly here with the addition of 8 more bonus tracks recorded at the end of the 60s – a few live tracks, and a number of other collaborations that follow the spirit of the main album. The package features a wonderful 44 page booklet, loaded with notes and photos – and titles include "Yulele", "Quien Te Viera", "Uh Que Macana", "Nina", "Tras De Ti", "Por Que", "La Chola", "Esa Cosa", "Blues Para El Bien Mio", "Margaritas Rojas", "Hombre", and "Mumi". CD

Two rare Argentine albums from Vera Sienra – back to back on a single CD, with great notes too! Nuestra Soledad is a tremendous debut, and unlike anything that we can easily put into words – fado in style, but carried off in a way that's more bossa nova overall – yet done with a fuller sense of feeling that almost echoes European singers of the decade before! Vera's vocals are incredibly deep – not baritone, but filled with a sense of melancholy that hardly matches the image on the front cover – and the arrangements and guitar are done by Eduardo Mateo, who you might know from other excellent work of this nature from the Buenos Aires scene. Titles include "La Flor", "Si Tiene Final", "Aquel", "El Caminante", "Calle Triste", and "Junto Al Cristal". Vera is a slightly different album from a few years later – a record with some fuller backings, and an even more emotive approach overall – yet still done with that amazing vocal approach, and nicely restrained in ways that really underscore the sense of sadness in the tunes. Titles include "Uno Mas", "No Me Dejes Ir", "Cancio Para El Tiempo", "La Gaviota", "Y Porque Nos Conocimos", and "La Inconformidad". CD